But, seriously, Volumes Bookcafe rocks, they need our help, and a lot of Chicago authors, including myself, are pitching-in. But they can use your help as well, so please learn more about the campaign at Indiegogo, and then donate, hype do something, anything. Thanks!

"Unsurprisingly, actresses in Hollywood have long known that Harvey Weinstein is a sexual predator, and have suffered for it. This is not an issue specific to Hollywood, but rather one that pervades every industry, including our own. In publishing, just as in the movie business, there are men we warn women not to work with, not to be alone with, not to send work to. The burden has always been placed on women to keep each other and ourselves safe—men don’t take accountability for their actions, and why should they? After all, they aren’t held accountable for those same actions (but sometimes their victims are). This is called rape culture, and here at The Rumpus we’ve been writing about that culture for years.

"There are reasons to be hopeful that the next generation will be more aware, less inclined to overlook the bad behavior of their peers, and more vocal in addressing sexual violence and harassment when confronted with it. But rape culture is pervasive, and it will take time and activism—and the dismantling of a patriarchy that is roaringly loud and proud at this moment in America’s history—to eradicate it. A good start is learning about sexual violence.

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It was one year ago that Be Cool was supposed to be released. There were some glitches, and it didn't come out until February, but I've still been hustling for a year, and that seems like enough.

For now.

While we never know what might become of our books down the road, hence the pause, nothing more may happen at all, because that can happen too, and so if that's the case, than this is goodbye to all that.

Still, to say goodbye and not take a moment to recognize all of the goodness and good people I connected with, and who supported Be Cool, along the way would be most unfortunate indeed.

There was a kick ass kick-off reading with the Rob Hollywood and Zoe Zolbrod at the Book Cellar; followed by a kick-off road trip with Be Cool's publisher Dockstreet Press and Dane Bahr last August, which took us to Phinney Books in Seattle, and time shared with the inestimable Sean Beaudoin and Josh Mohr, great writers both; reading in Portland as part the Get Nervous reading series with the quite awesome Cari Luna and John Barrios; and then on to Boise for the truly cool Campfire Stories hosted by the truly cool Christian Winn at the truly cool Modern Hotel.

Along the way I also got to read at Kill Your Darlings; Volumes Bookcafe for a second, and now official launch with the Jason Fisk and Eric Spitznagel, easy on the eyes both; Boswell Book Company and Quimby's, with Lee L. Krecklow, Robert Vaughan, Caitlin Scarano, Tasha Fouts, and Seth Berg, great readers and great friends, new and old, all.

Ultimately, I want to thank everyone who did anything to support Be Cool, especially my blurbers Sean and Robert, see above, as well as the Wendy C. Ortiz and Megan Stielstra, who now and forever, will serve as great inspirations and literary guides of mine.

I would also like to recognize some of the many journals who ran pieces from be Cool in different forms at some point, including, but not limited to The Rumpus, Nailed, TNBBC, Thought Catalog, decomP, The Weeklings, Manifest-Station, Collected Poop Stories (for real), Midnight Mind, RAGAD, Entropy, In Case We Die, Revolution John, CCLaP, and Rated Rookie.

Thanks as well to those who read Be Cool and posted comments and ratings on Goodreads and Amazon, you know who you are and I love you for that, and those I never met, but took the time to read the book.

I will always welcome more reviews and more ratings, sorry for that, but it all helps, though I am otherwise going to work on letting Be Cool go, which is always hard, and move onto the next thing.

I'm sure I missed some of you who supported me and I apologize for that, but know you are appreciated and loved as well.

And it really happened almost just like that. That said, we were travel, we were definitely Be Cool, there was much fun to be had, endless shout-outs to the Alan Heathcock, Cari Luna, Sean Beaudoin, Zoe Zolbrod, Josh Mohr, Christian Winn, John Barrios and Len Kuntz among others, and there is now a quite lovely podcast - the third in this series for those of you counting at home - for your Be Cool listening pleasure. So please do enjoy it.